At a major Summit in Oslo on 5 June, the Board of the
International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is meeting with political
leaders from major shipping nations and the Secretary General of the
United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) to discuss
sustainability and shipping in the Arctic. The objective is to create a
dynamic arena for dialogue between policy makers and the shipping
industry.The Summit is being hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and
Industry and the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (NSA), in conjunction with the ICS Annual General Meeting.Nowhere else are the effects of climate change seen so quickly and
clearly as in the Arctic. The fast melting ice comes with concerns and
challenges, but also with new opportunities for the international
maritime industry.There are in particular three development areas that are of special
interest to the international shipping industry: energy extraction at
sea, destination shipping to Arctic ports and intercontinental transits
via Northern sea routes.Common to all three is that these operations take place under
extremely challenging weather and working conditions, where operational
expertise, technology and quality in all links of the value chain are
essential. Sustainable use of Arctic waters is very important and more
demanding than anywhere else.To be on top of these challenges, it is important that governments
and the industry share a common understanding of the opportunities and
challenges in the Arctic, the three hosts agree and add:-As activity in these areas are on the rise, policy makers and the
industry need to cooperate and act together in order to take advantage
of the opportunities in a responsible and sustainable manner.The Summit will discuss the importance of Governments and industry
working together to ensure that a draft mandatory IMO Polar Code is
finalized and implemented by Governments, as soon as possible, in order
to help ensure safe navigation and environmental protection in Arctic
waters, as the volume of shipping in the region increases. The Summit
will also discuss the importance of Arctic shipping being regulated
within the framework of existing international maritime Conventions,
including those adopted by the IMO and the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea.Both the NSA and the ICS have recently issued respectively a report
and a position paper on the Arctic which are available to the press.
IMO&EU NEWS
31 May 2013 - 09:42
ICS, IMO to Discuss Sustainability and Shipping in Arctic
ICS is meeting with political leaders from major shipping nations and the Secretary General of the United Nations’ IMO to discuss sustainability and shipping in the Arctic.
IMO&EU NEWS
31 May 2013 - 09:42
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